Church

Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature

Words and the Word:

Bible as Literature, Literature as Bible

Christians recognize in one way or another that, in Sacred Scripture, God’s self revelation occurs through literary form and in interaction with a literary type of comprehensibility. The Bible is in fact a complex collection of diverse forms and stories, not a theological manual or catechism; it is a literature – and yet, if we recognize that the Bible is all poetry, would we also say that poetry is really all a Bible? What distinguishes the two and how do they inform each other? This conference considers the ways in which sacred literature is related to secular literature, and how the understanding of the one can inform our approaches to the other.

Keynote Speaker

Shemaiah Gonzalez

Shemaiah Gonzalez

Shemaiah Gonzalez is a writer with degrees in English Literature (BA) , Intercultural Ministry (MAPS) and Creative Non-Fiction Writing (MFA). She thrives in moments where storytelling, art, literature, and faith collide. Her work has appeared in America Magazine, Image Journal’s Good Letters, Ekstasis, The Curator, and Loyola Press, among others. She is the author of Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight. Coming in 2025 from Zondervan/Harper Collins. 

Conference Schedule


SB Hall Multipurpose Room​
Friday, November 15 Event  Location Speaker
2:30 - 3:00 PM Opening Remarks SB Hall Multipurpose Room  Fr. Stephen Gregg
3:00 - 4:00 PM Breakout Sessions Various Various
3:30 - 4:30 PM Coffee and Snacks Provided    
4:00 - 5:00 PM Breakout Sessions Various Various
5:00 - 6:30 PM Plenary  SB Hall Multipurpose Room  Shemaiah Gonzalez
6:30-8:30 PM Cocktail Reception  SB Hall Third Floor Atrium  

 

Satuday, November 16 Event Location Speaker
8:30 - 9:00 AM Coffee and Pastries Art History Room 112  
9:00 - 10:30 AM Plenary Art History Auditorium Dr. Theresa Kinney
10:30 - NOON  Breakout Sessions Various Various
NOON - 1:00 PM Lunch Catholic Foundation Boardroom  
1:00 - 2:30 PM Breakout Sessions Various Various
2:30 - 4:00 PM Breakout Sessions Various Various
4:00 PM Plenary Art History Auditorium Poetry Roundtable